Woods to skip Match Play; return at Honda

Feb 6, 2014 - 9:39 PM Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Tiger Woods announced his upcoming schedule on his website Thursday, and the biggest news is that he is skipping the WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship.

Woods has as many wins, three, as first-round losses at the Match Play Championship. He had planned to be at the Olympics, but now will instead remain in Florida to practice.

"I had planned to take that week off and travel with Lindsey [Vonn] to Sochi, but unfortunately that won't happen," Woods said on his website. "Instead, I'll stay home and prepare for the Florida tournaments."

Woods will return to action with three events in a four tournament stretch. He will start that stretch at The Honda Classic, where Woods shared 37th last year. He failed to break par in any of his four rounds at PGA National in 2013.

The following week, Woods will defend his title at the WGC - Cadillac Championship. He won that crown for the seventh time last year as he held off Steve Stricker by two strokes. The Blue Monster at Doral re-opened on Thursday after a lengthy renovation that started the day after the event ended last year.

After a week off, Woods will head to Bay Hill, where he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the eighth time last year. He beat Justin Rose by two last year.

"The Honda Classic is close to my home, and I want to support it whenever I can," Woods said. "We have a Learning Center at Murray Middle School in Stuart, Fla., and this event does so much to help the community, including the efforts of the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation.

"I'm also excited about spending time with Arnold and defending my title at his tournament and the WGC-Cadillac. I'm looking forward to seeing what they've done at Doral."

Though Woods didn't announce this, it is likely that Bay Hill will be his final event before the Masters. There are two events between Bay Hill and Augusta, and Woods rarely plays those two, the Texas Open and the Houston Open.